A NOTORIOUS wheel-clamper who extorted up to £500,000 (€588,000) from hapless motorists was yesterday jailed for four years.

Birmingham Crown Court was told that Gary Southall filled out pre-written receipts for up to £375 (€440) and even pretended to be asleep in his own vehicle before moving in to clamp unsuspecting and vulnerable victims.

Man jailed for drowning wife

A MAN has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for drowning his wife in a toilet in 1999.

Doug Plude was accused of poisoning 28-year-old Genell Plude with migraine medicine, drowning her in the toilet at their Wisconsin home and trying to make it look like suicide. The 43-year-old pleaded guilty.

Russian spies surface in Siberia

THE 10 Russian spies deported from the US this summer have surfaced on a joint holiday at Lake Baikal in Siberia. Among them were the redhead Anna Chapman and Juan Lazaro -- real name Mikhail Vasenkov -- who recent reports have suggested was the senior figure in the spy ring.

It is the first time the spies have been pictured together since their deportation from America in July.

Passive smoking kills 600,000

SECONDHAND smoke kills more than 600,000 people worldwide every year, according to a new study.

In the first look at the global impact of secondhand smoking, researchers analysed data from 2004 for 192 countries. They found 40pc of children and more than 30pc of non-smoking men and women regularly suffer the effects of secondhand smoke.

Stringfellow pays back fuel cash

PETER Stringfellow has written to UK Work And Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith asking him to halt his "totally unnecessary" pensioner's winter fuel allowance.

The flamboyant nightclub owner said he was somewhat embarrassed to receive the handouts and has now vowed to donate his backlog of payments to Help For Heroes.

Woman leaves gun at grave

A WOMAN in South Carolina left a .45-calibre handgun at a man's grave.

Police in Spartanburg said a 28-year-old woman, who consulted a spiritual adviser, was told she needed to return something that was given to her to cleanse her soul.